Corteo dei Martiri | Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

⚉ THE MOSAIC SERIES ⚉

The lower band on the right, commissioned by the Chancellery of Ravenna, contains mosaics that illustrate a magnificent procession of male saints. The twenty-six martyrs in white robes seem to form an infinitely long procession. The expressions and attitudes are always constant, removing all individuality for the sake of conveying a common message.On the left ot the procession the episodes re-evoke the evangelical readings of Holy Week and Easter. The Saviour, the focal point, is represented larger than the other personages according to the canons of the art of late antiquity. Christ, is depicted with a beard to highlight the suffering nature of humanity.

The middle band is an iconographic masterpiece consisting of thirty-two figures of prophets, sixteen on each side. Each figure is uniformly repeated in celebration of the Book and to confirm the importance of the Prophets, in the composition of the scriptures, prophets who recall, lato sensu, all the masters of the faith in both testaments.

The upper part contains 13 scenes, the most ancient extant mosaic series on the New Testament. On the right we see scenes of the life of the Saviour.